Postponed Netanyahu-Putin talks to be rescheduled ‘in near future’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone after he postponed a visit to Moscow for talks with the Russian leader to stay home and broker an election deal with two nationalist parties in a bid to beef up his right-wing bloc ahead of national elections.

The Russian embassy in Israel says Netanyahu and Putin discussed “international and bilateral issues” during the call, and said the leaders would hold face-to-face talks in Moscow “in the near future.” Moscow says the call was initiated by the Israeli side.

Yesterday, Kremlin officials told Russian state media the meeting between Putin and Netanyahu was postponed for several days due to Israeli internal political reasons.

The meeting scheduled for today would have been their first extensive face-to-face talks since a friendly fire incident in September that led to a Russian plane being downed by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli airstrike, which angered the Kremlin.